"After consecutive years of growth, Beirut Airport finally back on pre-war track"

Friday, May 7, 2004

After consecutive years of growth, Beirut Airport finally back on
pre-war track
VIP terminal and other projects expected to revitalize the sector
By Habib Battah 
Lebanon - The Beirut Daily Star


BEIRUT - In case any doubts remain, Beirut International Airport has
officially made its comeback from the civil war, welcoming more arrivals
in 2003 than any other year in its history. And with continued record
growth projected this year, and a dizzying number of new projects
planned for the coming weeks and months, 2004 could prove even more
pivotal. Hamdi Chouk, Lebanon's civil aviation chief, says a series of
sweeping new reforms are expected to catapult the recently completed
facility "into the next era."

An unprecedented drive for deregulation, enhanced relations with the
European Union, and a horde of investment opportunities emerging from
the opening of a VIP jet terminal - expected to be the only one of its
kind in the Middle East - are just some developments that could easily
boost activity and profits to levels not witnessed since the height of
the local industry's heyday in the 1970s.

"This is a very, very important year for civil aviation," Chouk said
during an interview with The Daily Star. "For the first time, we might
see 25 aircraft at all 25 gates at the same time," he added, projecting
at least a 20 percent jump in traffic over last year.

The former NASA researcher and pilot says he's "very optimistic" about
making critical progress toward the airport's 20-year modernization
plan, which includes an elaborate cargo village and state of the art
private jet hangar facility. In the coming months, Chouk says Parliament
will finally be willing to grant the airport its longstanding demand for
financial and administrative autonomy, a trend sweeping the industry
worldwide.

This will mean more efficiency, profitability and the historic
cancellation of the director-general's office - called for by a 2002
government decree which will replace it with two all-new entities: the
Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, which will serve an independent
regulatory and policy-making agency; and the Beirut Airport Corporation,
which will handle day-to-day operations. 

"This is the wave of the future ... when we achieve these reforms, we
can fly, as they say, 'supersonic' into our goals; but now we are locked
by the system of government, where it takes 50 to 60 signatures to
approve just one new service."

Red tape aside, signs of post-war openness have been more visible ever
since 1998, when the first stage of $430 million facility was
inaugurated. Passenger traffic was up by 20 percent last year, when the
number of airlines coming to Beirut jumped from 35 to 54, airport
revenue climbed from $70 to $90 million and private charter traffic
soared by 140 percent over 2001.

Chouk attributes recent gains to the "open skies" policy, which was
implemented in 2002 to lift restrictions on incoming passengers and
aircraft. "It has put us on a world map in terms of being a country with
a system that is liberal and open toward deregulation ... and it has led
Europe to consider Lebanon as the number one country in the region to
renegotiate bilateral agreements."

As first choice on the expanded EU's renegotiation agenda for treaties
with Middle Eastern airports, Lebanon and MEA are likely to benefit from
priority access to Europe, including a possible one stop security check
system - a breakthrough that would alleviate baggage delays and increase
regional competitiveness. 

And thanks to "completely new safety and security measures," the
International Civil Aviation Organization - a global authority on
airport safety and security - issued a "very positive report" on Lebanon
in 2003.

However, pressing security challenges remain - namely a swath of illegal
refugee housing currently sandwiched between two of the airport's
runways. 

Removing the housing would cost some $30 million in compensation fees,
Chouk explains, explaining that the airport is currently manned by five
separate security services.

Additional measures were also taken after last year's crash of the
Beirut-bound, Lebanese-owned UTA flight that killed over 100 people. 

In light of that disaster, Lebanon now joins the US and England in
imposing a "stop list" barring deficient airliners from entering Beirut.

The first country in the Middle East to implement such a list, Lebanon
has already banned five carriers from African and Eastern European
states, according to Chouk.

Although local security authorities are currently working with British
and American officials, direct travel from US to Beirut and vice versa
is still prohibited - "a political, not a technical issue," he says,
which could also be resolved this year. 

But perhaps the most glamorous of this year's developments is the
imminent completion a 120,000 square meter private jet terminal, with
eight VIP lounges and 12 hangars, a regionally unparalleled project
worth some $33 million. The de facto private airport is expected to
spawn a new industry catering to private jet traffic, which now accounts
for almost one quarter of airport activity.

The new terminal is projected to create nearly 2000 new jobs, with
Beirut enjoying a geographic advantage to capitalize on the sector.

"Not only will we be attracting people from the Gulf, but also clients
from Turkey, North Africa and Southern Europe, because there is no
one-stop VIP terminal to cater for all the requirements and needs of
small VIP and charter aircraft."

In addition to a stint at NASA's research facility in Langley, Virginia,
Chouk spent 18 years with the Australian defense ministry, and also
worked for McDonnell Douglas. He now heads the Middle East's only
aeronautical engineering department at Balamand University in North
Lebanon. 

"To tell you the truth, I'm very happy... it gives me great pleasure to
be part of the rebuilding process of my country."

Attached Photo:

Beirut Airport.

Beirut.jpg